Theravada Buddhism: The View of the Elders

Notes on References and Romanization of Sanskrit and Pali

Notes on References and Romanization of Sanskrit and Pali It is hard to write a work on Theravada without using some Pali and Sanskrit terminology. In including these foreign terms, I have used the following system: words that appear within parentheses are usually Pali; Sanskrit terms that appear within parentheses are denoted by the abbreviation “Skt.” Diacritical marks have been omitted for the sake of simplicity, but some guidance to correct pronunciation can be found in the Glossary of Pali Terms. Sanskrit terms that have passed into the English language, such as karma, nirvana, and samsara , may be found in most English dictionaries. To denote the teaching of the Buddha and the community of the monks and nuns I will use Dhamma (instead of the more familiar Skt. dharma) and Sangha, respectively, terms that are more familiar to those who have some prior acquaintance with Theravada Buddhism. To conform to the policy of this series, notes have been kept to an absolute minimum. I have severely reduced references to sources within the text of this book itself but have compensated by including a Guide to Further Reading. An exception has been made with regard to some canonical references felt to be crucial. For long and middle-length discourses, I have given the numbers of the relevant discourses; for connected and gradual discourses, I have given chapter numbers followed by discourse numbers. Translations are either taken directly or adapted from the translations detailed in Appendix 2. Where I quote from translations, I have given the relevant references. ...